Love Thy Neighbour
by SavageTrickster
Summary: It's ironic how someone you want so much can be so close yet so far. Shiraishi X OC.
1. Mr Perfect is My Neighbour

**A new Prince of Tennis story from me. I had this idea running in my head for weeks but had no time to type it out. I don't care if you think this one is cliché or someone already own one similar to this because this story has been bugging me for quite a long time, I **_**had**_** to get it out here. Every time, I play this certain song, more ideas would pop out for this story idea. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT but I do own my OCs and **_**maybe**_** the plot.**

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**...  
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**Act One**

"_You are, and always have been, my dream."_

**...**

* * *

Gasp.

I stared at the male before me in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

Those beautiful greyish brown eyes just seemed to sparkle. "I like you a lot. Don't know how it happened but... I'm glad for it." He smiled at me.

"Shiraishi..." I gaped at him.

I couldn't believe my ears. Shiraishi Kuranosuke likes me? This gorgeous neighbour of mine has finally noticed me! Not as a neighbour but a potential lover?

The male gently tilted my head up to face him. I widened my eyes at his action and gulped when I realized he's leaning forward.

_K-Kiss? _

I could feel heat creeping up my face and my palms growing sweaty.

_Isn't it a bit too early? _I closed my eyes. _What if I'm a bad kisser? Oh no!_

But my inner turmoil just disappeared at a snap when a pair of lips pressed lightly against mine. Warm and soft were all I could think about.

Sighing in content, I reached up to pull him closer. But as though my touch had scalded him, he hastily pulled away.

"What is it?" I glanced up with a puzzled frown, still blushing, to see Shiraishi giving me a strange look. "And why are you staring at me like that?"

The male reached up to touch his lips before glancing up at me with a horrified look. "Asahara-san..."

I frowned at how he addressed me. What happened to 'Kyoru'?

I looked worriedly at him. "What's the matter?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

"_What_?"

**...**

* * *

"Ow!"

My eyes snapped opened at the pain at my side. Groaning groggily, I turned and realized why- I fell off the bed. I stifled a yawn and settled into staring at my blue ceiling above.

I heaved a sigh. Another dream. It sets me to wonder whether these dreams will ever become reality. Oh and no, I hope the last bit doesn't becomes reality or I swear I'm never going to ever come out of this house again.

"KYORU!"

I snapped my head over to the closed door of my bedroom to see it slam open. I stared at my older brother who stood at the now-open door. His eyes flicked down from my bed to the floor. Surprise passed his face. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I fell off my bed." I said dryly.

"Oh." An eyebrow rose at me. "Well, you better get that big ass off the floor now. I would have gotten up earlier for the first day of my senior year if I were you."

"I do _not_ have a big ass." I rolled my eyes at him. "Just go, I'm up."

But to my annoyance, he stayed there. I narrowed my eyes at the amused smirk that crept its way across his face. "What? Why are you smirking like that?"

"Dreamt of our dear neighbour again?" He mused, eyebrows wagging at me.

Pushing myself up to sit cross-legged on the floor, I shot him an unimpressed raised eyebrow.

Kaito acts more like the younger one when he's the older even though he's already a freshman at _high _school-Trust me, he's annoying. He became even more annoying when he learned about my crush.

I have this major crush on our neighbour ever since Mum and Dad invited his whole family over for our house-warming party shortly after we moved in. As an in-love ten years old girl, I foolishly scribbled 'Shiraishi Kuranosuke' all over my diary, forgetting about my brother's annoying hobby of reading it. That got me landing up in four years of teasing about Shiraishi Kuranosuke from him. Looking at my current situation, looks like there's going to be a fifth one.

''So I guessed right?" Kaito grinned at me.

I didn't answer him. I stood, snatching up my alarm clock from my bedside table as I did so. "Go. Away." I warned, my eyes flashing dangerously at him. "I'll give you five seconds to do that."

"You'll most likely get a concussion in..."I raised the clock, ready to fling it. "5...4...3...2-"

I blinked numbly at the empty doorway. Putting the clock back to its place when I realized Kaito's gone, I shook my head at where he stood a few seconds ago before walking over to the window.

_7:35._

Glancing away from my alarm clock, I peeked out between the curtains for a look at the outside. My eyes widened the instant they landed on a familiar male who was crouching by a flowerbed at his lawn, tending to it (Having my bedroom on the second level sure had its benefits).

"Shiraishi?" I watched in delight as I eyed him lovingly. His love for plants was one of the things I admire about him. So gentle and careful with the plants...

Mai's words from our phone chat last night came back to me at the sight of him.

"You tried _so _many times to get him to notice you. How many times have you dropped him _obvious_ hints? Damn it, I'm getting fed up with this wishy-washyness! Just get it done and_ over_, Kyoru! You better confess to him the first thing when school re-opens tomorrow or I'll do it for you."

Yes, she said confess_. _Okuno Mai, my nosy good friend, said that if I don't, she'll do it for me and I know she will. Well, fuck my life.

Luckily, Kaito didn't know I'm going to confess to Shiraishi today or else he'll probably spoil the whole thing by wanting to be the audience.

Sure, it was assuring to know Kaito will not be one, but it does takes a lot of courage to confess.

I'm scared.

**...**

* * *

"So you have finally decided to get that big ass of yours down here?" Kaito greeted me with a lazy smirk from our dining table which I just rolled my eyes in response to. "I do not have a big ass." I said monotonously.

Dropping my school bag against the table, I plopped down on the chair opposite him and glanced down at my breakfast displayed in front of me.

Teriyaki Salmon, my favorite.

The not-annoying part of my brother was his cooking.

Sadly, I didn't have time to savor it; I have a confession to make to the guy next door. I could feel Kaito's eyes on me as I stuffed my breakfast into my mouth. "What's the rush?" Head still leaning over my meal, I looked at him through my hanging auburn fringe to see him eying me with a raised eyebrow.

But I didn't have time to answer him either. I continued stuffing my mouth with the salmon, beating at my chest to help it go down. The last bit of rice, and I was done. "Thanks for the breakfast!" I shot up from my seat and snatched my bag before dashing to the door.

"Kyoru! You're manning grandma's store after school, right?"

"Yes!" I shouted back, slipping my feet into my shoes.

"Remember to keep Wednesday free; we'll have to pick up Mum and Grandma from the airport!"

I sighed irritably. "Yes, I know! How many times do you have to remind me?" I yelled through gritted teeth, glancing over at the dining table before glancing back at the large mirror hung against the wall.

Hair nicely brushed? I eyed the long auburn hair that laid over my shoulders. Check. No stains on my uniform? I glanced down at my uniform. Check. Breath? I breathed into the palm of my hand and grimaced. Fishy. Yuck.

I turned back to the dining table. "Nii-chan! Pass me a Clorets, will you?" I shouted over.

But, Kaito- to my annoyance- _slowly_ stood up and _strolled_ over to the cabinet. "Nii-chan! Hurry up!" I gritted my teeth, impatient.

I mean... Hellooo? There's a confession to be made?

He turned with an indifferent look and lazily tossed over me a box which _nearly_ go 'plop' into our grandma's small Koi pond beside me if not for me. "Thanks." I said dryly.

A drawl of 'You're welcome' was the last thing I heard before I shut the door behind me.

**...**

* * *

I peeked through the gates and let out a relieved sigh. Shiraishi was still tending to his garden. Perfect.

Quietly pushing the gate open, I took a hesitant step into the compound before glancing over to see that he's still not aware of my presence. I took a deep breath.

Mai's words came back to me again.

"You tried _so _many times trying to get him to notice you. How many times have you dropped him _obvious_ hints? Damn it, I'm getting fed up with this wishy-washyness! Just get it done and_ over_, Kyoru! You better confess to him the first thing when school re-opens tomorrow or I'll do it for you."

Okay, Mai's right. Just get it _done_ and _over_.

I took another deep breath and quickly smoothen my hair when a gentle breeze blew at it.

"Asahara-san?"

I jumped, turning to the voice to see Shiraishi now standing with a pot in his right hand, his handsome face scrunched up into puzzled lines at me.

_Oh shit._

Flustered, I looked at him and cleared my throat, trying to calm myself. "Shiraishi-kun!" I said, acting surprise. Then I realized. Why the hell did I act surprised to see him when I was the one who sneaked in here? Stupid!

"Oh. Erm…Good morning!" I smiled awkwardly at him. "First day of third year, huh?"

He then smiled an awesome smile at me, looking somewhat amused to me. "Yeah." He then chuckled. Ooh…His laughter sounds nice. "I've got a feeling that Kenya will be challenging you to another race in class later." He said, smiling amusingly at me as he switched the pot into his left.

"Yeah…" I smiled at him.

Ever since I got Gold award-my _first_ ever- for my Track and Field team, Kenya began challenging me to races to see who's faster. Not that he didn't before but the challenges came more frequently than ever since my achievement.

We lapsed into silence after Shiraishi gave another round of chuckle.

I fingered my skirt nervously.

"Hey…Nice plants." I said awkwardly.

"Thanks." He said. I watched his eyes drifted to the pot in his hand and back up at me. "So…What are you doing here?"

I stiffened at his question, startled. "Oh, I just wanted to tell you that I…I..." My fingers curled into fists at my sides. He looked expectantly at me, waiting. "…like you a lot!" I blurted out. I hastily glanced down at my shoes, refusing to meet his eyes.

Silence.

The silence was unnerving. I could feel heat creeping up my face.

"I like you a lot too."

I gasped, snapping my head up with a look of disbelief. "R-Really…?" A smile crept across my face.

He nodded with a serene smile.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke likes me a lot? Just like what happened in my dream! Is he going to k-kiss me next? Oh my god-

"You're a great neighbour too."

The smile on my face faltered at an instant, my jaw unhinged by itself at that.

"Asahara-san...?" He frowned worriedly at me. "Are you okay? You suddenly look pale..."

I shook my head slowly at him. "Yeah...I'm fine." I said with a weak smile. "I think I'll go now. You know, school...?" I fidgeted awkwardly at the spot, staring my shoes again.

"Oh right!" I glanced up at him to see him carefully place down the pot in his hand beside the flowerbed with a tiny smile on his face. How I wish I was that pot!

"I better get ready. " He straightened up, starting to jog towards his house. "Thanks for the reminder, Asahara-san!" He yelled from over his shoulders with a smile which I merely nodded stiffly to before I turned away from him.

I shook my head disappointingly to myself, starting to walk towards the gate.

It _was_ just like that dream afterall! Ending off with a painful 'splat'. I mean, isn't that confession _obviously_ a confession? He can get it right away when his fangirls confess to him that they like _like_ him. But why can't he get that I like _like _him too, not just a simple like as his neighbour.

"See you at class, Asahara-san!" I glanced over my shoulders, just in time to see Shiraishi disappear behind the door.

I sighed heavily, walking through the gates and pass my house dejectedly.

"Nice going."

I stopped and snapped my head over to the voice to see Kaito leaning against the lamp post right outside our house. A stupid amused smirk, at a time like this, was sure annoying as hell.

He was watching? Great. He's going to be more annoying than ever.

"Shut up." I growled, giving him a heated glare. My eyes drifted down to a lump of furry white and brown in his arms.

"Kyu!" My eyes widened in surprise to see our cat. "Where have you been? I stroked her head fondly, receiving delightful purrs from her. "I found her at the back." I glanced up at Kaito to see amusement in his eyes which I suspected that it was about my disappointing and entertaining (to him) show of confession to our neighbour.

Choosing to ignore that, I glanced back down at Kyu to see her staring at me with those big unblinking green eyes. "Sorry, Kyu. I gotta go." I said despite knowing she doesn't understand.

I turned back to Kaito and slipped out my watch from my pocket. I showed it to him, making sure he could see the time. "You better get to school now. You're going to be late. "I said grumpily, keeping it away before continuing my way down the pathway to school.

"Oh shit! School!"

I glanced back to see him dash inside before looking forward again with a shake of head.

I heaved a heavy sigh at the result of the confession which I have finally made to Shiraishi- probably the heaviest one I'll let out today.

For someone so handsome and perfect... topping the level the past two years with perfect grades, tackling every Chemistry questions like they were 'ABC's, and being the captain of the tennis team, Shiraishi Kuranosuke was sure kinda... dense.

**...**

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**So awful that you want to puke? Good? Not bad? How was the chapter? Tell me what you think! If this story so far seems successful from the feedbacks, I'll continue or else maybe not. :/ In other words, **_**REVIEW **_**please~**


	2. No Speed, No Life? Yeah right

**SavageTrickster is back, people! Sorry for the long wait, thank you for being sooo patient! I don't know whether people are going to read this but I'm just posting one chapter. But I hope you guys can drop a review to share with me if I should continue writing **_**Love Thy Neighbour.**_

**Here's a chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT but I do own my OCs.**

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**….**

**Act Two**

"_Today, Yesterday, and Forever_."

**….**

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"So did you tell him? Did you? Did you?" Mai eyed me through narrowed eyes.

The reminder of the confession had me heaving a sigh, "Yes, I did…" I turned to her, pushing my locker close. The Mathematics textbook in my arms was as heavy as the feeling I'm having right now. A fail in confessing to your crush was definitely not the best way to start a new day with. Especially when you were told that you're a great _neighbour_ in return.

Her amethyst eyes brightened up. "Did it go well?" She grabbed my shoulders. "So…?" Mai shook me impatiently.

"Yeah…" I muttered offhandedly, leading us down the busy hallway.

"Really?" I glanced over to Mai only to see a wide excited grin on her face. "See, that's why I told you to stop with the wishy-washiness! Then what did he say?"

"That I'm a great neighbor…" At her blank stare, I nodded. "That was what he said, alright. Let's head to class." I nudged her forward to get her walking.

"What..?"Mai started moving. "You mean he _actually_ said that?"

I moved closer to Mai to make way for a running student who was yelling to do so for him. "Loud and clear." I gazed down at her lazily. My eyes widened slightly at her short boyish black hair. "Did you cut your hair again?"

She reached up to her hair, playing with a strand. "Yeah, a trim actually."

I shook my head at her. "Why do you keep cutting it? It was short enough already."

"It keeps getting in the way." She released her hair. "Anyway, focus on Shiraishi-kun. I think you can try again but this time, say it to him _clearer_." Mai narrowed at her eyes in thoughts.

Isn't this girl taking this matter a bit too serious? She looks like she's planning for a war!

"No thanks, Mai. I'll probably get rejected even if he could finally see that it's a confession." I sighed."Plus, he's practically married to his plants."

Her face fell. "But-"

"ASAHARAAAAA!" A voice shouted from the hallway behind.

All heads around me turned to its direction, I could hear murmurs and excited squeals from the fangirls.

Mai had a raised eyebrow. "Oi, Kyoru…" She jutted her chin at the direction of that voice.

I didn't need her to tell me who was it. It was someone who's _insanely_ obsessed with speed. And that was none other than Oshitari Kenya.

I heaved a sigh and whipped around with a scowl. "_What_?" I growled at the incoming figure.

Oshitari Kenya, a regular of the Shitenhoji tennis team and obviously from all the girly squeals, one of the school's hotshot, dashed through the path my schoolmates formed. Everyone was trying not to get into the speed star's way.

Handsome would be how I would describe him, but, handsome he is, he can be annoying once he open that mouth of his. Especially with his stupid challenges which I am _so_ not interested in. Sometimes it makes me wonder what he sees me as. A friend? Or just someone he could compete with.

Hmm… From that excited look on his face, looks like he's going to throw out another challenge. Great.

"Race you to class! Lose and you'll have to treat me!" Oshitari skidded to a stop in front of us with a childish wide grin.

See, like I said, another goddamn challenge.

"_Not_ interested, Oshitari." I eyed him with a bored look.

"Why…?" His grin fell into a pout. Like seriously, a _pout_! He's supposedly fifteen this year, and he's now sulking like a kid!

"Because like I said, _not_ interested."

"C'mon, Asahara!"Oshitari scowled at me. "No speed, no life!"

Damn his stupid motto.

I met his eyes with a stubborn frown. "No."

"Oshitari-kun," Oshitari turned to Mai who was quiet throughout with a surprised look, "It's too early in the morning to _race_. You can race her tomorrow, you know? Kyoru have practice tomorrow."

Oshitari stared back at her, mouthing an 'O'. "Oh yeah!" He turned back to me. His blue eyes glittered excitedly (creepily) at me. "Tomorrow then! But for now…"

I glanced down in surprise at a touch on my wrist to see his hand there. "Eh?" I looked up at him with a confused look. "What are you doing-"

A grin on his face was my only warning before he made a sudden dash forward, tugging me along. "…LET'S RUN TO CLASS!"

"Kyoru!" Mai yelled after us.

However, I was too busy screaming profanities at stupid Oshitari in front to hear her.

One thought crossed my mind as I struggled to release myself from his grip: _Kill Oshitari later._

**...**

* * *

Thanks or no thanks to Oshitari, we reached our classroom pretty quickly. He kinda freaked the hell out of many, charging all the way here like a psycho.

"Nice run!" Oshitari slapped me on my back with a toothy grin.

I glared at him, shooting him an unimpressed look "It's not." I reached up to smoothen my messy hair. I frowned at him over my shoulder, pulling our classroom door open. "So energetic..."

Doesn't he ever get things like Monday blues? Lucky guy.

"Asahara-san? Kenya?"

I turned around in surprise to see Shiraishi by the door, standing just a few inches away from me. I could feel him breathing onto my hair and the heat radiating off him! I hastily stepped a few steps back, landing a foot on Oshitari's in the process. A yelp of pain that sounded akin to 'Ow! My foot!' came from behind.

I glanced over my shoulder at Oshitari and mouthed an 'Oops', watching him clutch onto his foot. "Sorry…" I threw the male an apologetic smile before turning back to Shiraishi to see him watching us with interest.

"He-Hey, Shiraishi-kun." I smiled shyly at him before I let my gaze drop to the book in my arms. Like every time, I don't have the guts to meet those eyes.

Shiraishi had a smile on his face. "Hi, Asahara-san."

"Shiraishi, there's practice tomorrow right?" Oshitari asked.

"Oh right, Kenya!" I perked up at that, glancing up to see Shiraishi take out a paper from the pile of papers held in his hand. "I was just about to go distribute our new practice schedule. Here's yours."

Taking it from his buchou, Oshitari brought the schedule closer to his face and scanned through its contents. "Alright! Lots of practices!" He cheered, stuffing it into his bag."Give me some of those, I'll distribute to them too. With speed, of course!"

"Ahhh…Ecstasy!" Shiraishi chuckled, handing him a small pile with a grin. "Take this as practice then!"

"Of course!" I watched Oshitari slipped his tennis bag off his shoulder and later did I know, slipped it onto mine. "Take this in for me, Asahara! You better get ready for tomorrow!" He smirked, sprinting down the corridor, leaving me no chance to reject his challenge.

"Another race?"

I snapped my head back to Shiraishi in surprise. "Yeah…As usual." I sighed heavily at the thought of another pointless race.

"Well, that's Kenya for you." Shiraishi gazed at me with a smile that would have made a fangirl and well…me die. My eyes fell onto the 'Mathematics' word on the cover of my book. I could feel his eyes on me.

"Your hair smells nice."

"Huh?" I looked up, blushing. Did he just say that…my hair smells nice?

He continued eying me thoughtfully. "Which shampoo did you use?" He finally spoke up again.

Uhh…Shampoo?

Blinking a few times at him, I blurted out. "Sunsilk."

Shiraishi nodded. "Good brand. See ya!" He waved a hand at me and walked away in the direction opposite where Oshitari went.

"See…you." I waved at his retreating back. I reached up to my hair and brought it to my nose to smell.

_Note to self: Buy more Sunsilk._

"What Shiraishi-sama said does not mean anything, Asahara!" A high-pitched voice invaded my ears.

I rolled my eyes and turned to the easily recognizable voice.

The head of Shiraishi's fanclub, Asai Kaede stood where Shiraishi was a few seconds ago, with her two unfriendly-looking vice presidents beside her.

"You three..." I drawled lazily. "How fortunate of us to be in the same class again." Sarcasm rolled off my tongue.

Ever since they found out I lived next to 'Shiraishi-sama', they have been keeping a freaking annoying close eyes on me, warning me against ever trying to take their 'Shiraishi-sama'.

"It's unfortunate actually, bitch." Asai glared at me, haughtily flipping her blond hair over a shoulder.

"Getting a little friendly with Oshitari-sama doesn't mean you can do that with Shiraishi-sama too, you whore." The brown-haired one on her right snarled, eying Oshitari's bag that was hanging off on my shoulder.

Oh pleaseeee. Look at their attires. Their blouses are practically sticking to their boobs like glue and their skirts are what I can call 'mini-skirts'. The amount of makeup they wore and their smelly perfumes are making me puke!

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and plastered a smile on my face instead. "Why, I guess it takes one to know one. So if you don't mind, fellow whores, please make way. You're blocking the door."

"Why you little bitch!" They stepped forward with eyes ready to kill.

A calm female voice that was too familiar broke in, making the three stop in their advance towards me.

"Hey, hey. Isn't it too early in the morning to be causing a commotion?" I turned to see Mai walking towards us, eying the girls with a scowl. "Grow up already, you three." She bit in.

"Oh hey, Mai. What took you so long?" I blinked at the approaching girl, folding my arms behind my head.

Her face darkened slightly with annoyance. "It's you two that were too fast."

"Not my fault." I put my hands up to express my innocence. "It's Oshitari's."

Mai sighed. "I know…"

Opening my mouth to say something, Asai's annoying voice cut in. "Don't ignore us!"

I turned to face the fangirl. "Seriously, would you three just move away?" I didn't bother to wait a response and pushed them apart, making a gap between that was enough for me and Mai to pass through.

Their whiny protests never reached my ears as I stepped between them and entered the classroom. I could careless about the fangirls, Oshitari's bag was cutting into my shoulder and I need to get it off. How many tennis rackets did that guy have in his bag anyway? Man, it's freaking heavy!

The angry glares on the three fangirls' face fell into thoughtful looks once the one who insulted them walked off.

One thought crossed their minds simultaneously: _Buy Sunsilk._

**...**

* * *

I marched down the rows of desks, maneuvering around my classmates to the seat at the back and propped his bag against it. Rubbing my shoulder, I stared longingly at the seat next to Oshitari's which was by the window. The tennis bag leaning against it had a white font, announcing to the world its owner: _Shiraishi Kuranosuke_.

My eyes then swept to the bespectacled girl sitting in front of that seat and sighed in envy.

Ueda Misaki.

Like last year, her brown hair was tied up in a neat ponytail. We don't really talk, only hellos and byes whenever we past each other. She was not like other girls in my class…well, doesn't seem to be a fangirl type. (Trust me, Mai's one too except hers is not from the tennis team.) She's a studious and pretty shy one. Once or twice, I've seen her stuttering to Shiraishi behind.

But envy her or not, sitting in that seat is almost like you're signing a death warrant. Here's a hint. It starts with 'f'. However, luckily for Ueda-san, Shiraishi would always be there to defend her against those horrible fangirls.

"Good morning, Asahara-san." A soft quiet voice broke through my thoughts.

My attention focused onto Ueda's face.

My eyes bulged slightly in surprise. Heh? Did she just greet me? Usually she never does that, only when we actually past each other in the hallways. Never in class.

"Oh hey, Ueda-san." I returned her a small smile. "Good morning to you too!"

"Back!" A male voice suddenly yelled from behind, scaring the hell out of me. A pair of hands clamped onto my shoulders next.

I whipped around to see Oshitari. "Back so soon, Oshitari?" Surprise clearly evident in my voice.

His brown hair was messier than its usual mess from- of course- running all over school. He scoffed. "Of course! As expected from the Speed Star of Naniwa! No speed, no life!" He beamed proudly at himself.

I sighed. Seriously, what a speed-obsessed guy.

"You better not lose tomorrow or else…treat me!" He grinned down at me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

I could feel stares on me the moment he did that. Wait, stares would be an understatement. More like imaginary daggers shot from the eyes.

"Oshitari," I breathed out resignedly. The speed star blinked at me. "You just dug my grave for me."

"Huh?"

I pulled his arm off me and stepped away, ignoring the rambling going on around me. I didn't fail to catch the angry glares from Oshitari's fangirls.

"Your fangirls. Get them to chill, will you? Thanks." I mumbled, turning to the seat beside his. My seat.

Oshitari watched me plopped down on my chair. "Ignore them." He too plopped down on his seat and stretched out his arms before folding them behind his head.

I watched classmates file into the room. The noise level, to my annoyance, was increasing proportionately to the number of people.

"Hey, Asahara." I glanced over to Oshitari expectantly for him to continue. "How many freshmen do you think will come to our club this year?"

"Freshmen?" I tilted my head in confusion. It took me a while for me to realize. "Oh right, I totally forgot that there's going to be a new batch!" I returned a sheepish look to Oshitari's incredulous look.

"Well…?"

"I bet there will be a lot for you guys. Not like mine." I huffed. Obviously the tennis team will get a lot. Shitenhoji Middle School is so well known for its tennis!

"Of course!" He smirked proudly at me.

"Then why ask?" I shot him a dry look.

"Kenya!" Both of our heads turned to that voice. My eyes widened at Shiraishi who stopped by Oshitari's seat. "Done distributing them?"

"With speed! You're finally back, slowpoke?" Oshitari teased.

Shiraishi's face darkened with a glare. "Do you want me to order you to run 100 laps around the school, Kenya?"

"Eh…No." Oshitari sweatdropped.

I watched them intriguingly.

Then Shiraishi's facial expression changed so fast that I almost couldn't believe he was looking pissed a few moments ago. "I was joking ahahahaha!"

Oshitari and I sweatdropped and exchanged looks.

_The buchou's a little wacky eh?_

"Morning Kyoru-chan!" An arm slung over my shoulder.

"Eh?" I turned around and found myself staring at a pair of round blue eyes. They blinked and so did I. "Oh, Yuki!" I finally came to realize who was it and shot up from my seat.

Takashima Yuki, my good friend from class 3-1, drew closer with a sly smile. "Shiraishi-kun, eh?" Her brows wagged at the said male who was busy talking to Oshitari.

I turned back to Shiraishi at her mention just nice to see him stroll over to Ueda-san's desk.

"What's he doing?" Yuki whispered into my ears but I merely shrugged.

Ueda-san glanced up at Shiraishi with a surprise look. Pink faintly dusted on her cheeks as she stuttered an answer to his question. I could not make out what they said to each other.

Watching them triggered a sudden wave of sadness and bitterness to wash over me.

Why can't I be the one he reached out to converse with? The urge to yell something like 'I'm right here, you know!' to him was so strong.

It's so clear. We're always neighbors afterall and always plainly that. Does he even see me as a classmate? For so many years as neighbours, he never actually ever started conversations like this with me. Let alone school...maybe except for earlier. Just mere greetings before we return into our own homes. How could I not envy Ueda-san?

"Don't worry, Kyoru-chan." My eyes moved away from them to Yuki who suddenly spoke again. She had a grin on her face. "You guys are neighbours afterall! Plenty of chances!"

"Yeah…" I forced a smile.

Exactly. _Neighbours_. Today, yesterday and forever more.

Could we ever be _more_?

**….**

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Hope you like this chapter. Do review! Thanks.  
**


	3. My Name is Kyoru!

**Hello, people! Thank you to those who reviewed, favourite and subscribed! I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. I'm pleased to know that some of you have managed to somehow capture a very subtle hint from the previous chapter. It has something to do with the main plot of this story, something that would blow up into big things here.**

**I shall say no further. Enjoy this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT.**

* * *

**...**

**Act Three**

"_A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."_

**...**

* * *

"_Fifteen _more minutes, Kyu..." I breathed out a sigh, "And then we can go home." Kyu, whose green eyes snapped open when I spoke, flashed her teeth at me as she yawned. She blinked once, and then curled back into sleep.

Great. Even my pet cat ignores me.

I shook my head at the snoozing animal before looking around my grandma's bookstore to make sure nothing was out of order. I scowled the moment my eyes landed on an unkempt shelf.

"Customers...couldn't they put them back properly?!" I grumbled as I grabbed a random tall stool.

What a pain.

I love working at Grandma's bookstore, but sometimes it can be quite annoying when customers comes and go, carelessly placing the book in any empty space in the bookshelf. As an avid book lover, I couldn't stand the mishandling of books.

Quickly arranging the books the way they were supposed to be, I tried reaching for the few that were just slightly out of my reach. Urgh, curse my short genes! Standing at 160cm, I wasn't the shortest person in the family but I've always wanted to be taller like Kaito who always called me 'shorty'.

I glared at the books that seemed to be mocking me. I could barely touch them despite my tip-toeing! Eyeing them with a calculated look, I adjusted the position of the stool and climbed on.

I couldn't hold back a little shriek when the stool wobbled. Steadying myself, I breathed out a relieved sigh and reached up to the books. My fingers went from books to books, gently putting them back to their places. My eyes never left the books to look at any other place. The world around me faded into the background, only one thing matters now- the books.

**...**

* * *

Kyu's ears twitched to the soft 'ding' from the door. Her eyes flared open and instantly locked onto the entering human. Her gaze tore away from him for a brief moment to her owner who was too absorbed in the books she was arranging before stopping on the human once again. Her head tilted at him as she watched him approach the counter she was sitting comfortably on. Her nose was telling her that he was someone she knows.

"Asahara-san?" Kyu watched the male with light brown hair call out. His greyish brown eyes were seeking out for her idiot owner behind the counter. She blinked her green eyes at him, studying him curiously. Her eyes reflected what he wore, a grey tank top with a forest green jacket over it and a pair of dark jeans.

He startled her a little when he suddenly pulled his bandaged hand out of his pocket and reached it out towards her. But the soothing strokes she received on her furry head from him instantly calmed her down. Her tail swished from side to side as she fondly rubbed her little head against his hand and purred loudly.

Ah, she remembered this human now. He always treated her nicely, sometimes bringing her treats or toys to play with. She remembered the ball of yarn he brought along for her to play the last time he came in. He was one of the few humans she approved of, apart from her idiot owner and her family. She dubbed him simply as her 'kind human'.

The kind human had a smile on his face. "Where's your owner, Kyu?" He asked gently.

At once, Kyu leaped down from the counter to the carpet floor below and landed gracefully before meowing at him to follow her to the shelf where her unsuspecting owner was still staring lovingly at the dusty things she called 'books'. She stopped the moment her owner came into view and gave another meow.

"Thank you, Kyu." The male stroked her head once before walking past her.

**...**

* * *

"Hey, Asahara-san!"

"Eh?" My concentration was completely broken by the familiar voice. I blinked blankly at my fingers which froze against the spines of the books before turning my head towards the voice.

My heart did a somersault the instant my eyes stopped on its owner.

"Shiraishi-kun?" I stupidly took a step back in surprise, forgetting that there was no floor behind. I was even more surprise when I felt myself falling backwards.

My eyes widened and my heart did its somersault once again. Too shock to scream, all I could do was watch the distance between me and the shelf grow bigger and bigger.

My last thoughts were, _oh man this is going to hurt big time,_ and _why am I always embarrassing myself in front of him...?_

I heard an 'Asahara-san!' with shock evident in it before I slammed into something. And that was it, I wasn't falling anymore, but instead I landed against something warm and hard.

Warm air breathed against my hair as a mumble that sounded akin to 'Thank god' came from above my head.

My eyes popped open. "Huh?"

"God, you scared me." I raised my head only to find Shiraishi gazing down at me. "Are you okay?" I blinked a few times at the worried look on his face.

I suddenly didn't know how to speak. I merely nodded, and hoped to god that my saviour couldn't see the growing blush on my face.

His facial expression turned serious. "You shouldn't be climbing up and down like this especially on such a tall stool, Asahara-san! It's dangerous, you know! If not for me, you could have broken your neck." His body rumbled against mine as he lectured.

I didn't know what to say so I just murmured a 'sorry'.

To know that Shiraishi was holding me in his arms made me blush even harder. If Mai knew about this, she would freak!

His serious look disappeared so quickly to a grin that it was hard to believe that he was actually serious just now. "Careful next time, alright?" He released me from his arms before getting up himself. Being a gentleman, he held out a hand for me to hold as I stood up.

"Ah, thank you, Shiraishi-kun..." I said the moment I was on my feet.

"No problem!"

Blinking a few times at him, I tilted my head at him. "So...why are you here?"

"Oh!" His eyes lit up at that. "I ordered a magazine. Your grandma told me that it would arrive today. So has it?"

"What is it called?"

"Bugs Wonder." He held out a small piece of paper in his bandaged hand. "Here's the receipt."

A brush of our fingers sent a jolt like electricity down my spine. Trying to ignore that, I took the receipt and turned away. "Alright, I'll go check it for you."

I could hear his light footsteps behind me as I made my way to the counter where Kyu was lying on, watching us approach with a bored look. "You're finally up, Kyu?"

A chuckle came from behind. "She led me to you."

"O-Oh." I threw a smile over my shoulder before reaching to pat Kyu's head.

"She's a nice cat."

Hearing his voice from beside, I turned to watch him reach out to stroke Kyu's head. An adoring look at him after I made sure he wasn't looking, I left quietly to get his magazine.

**...**

* * *

"_What_?" Mai snapped her head over to me with an excited look. "That's...That's so...romantic!"

All heads snapped over to her at her outburst.

"Shh!" I slapped her on her shoulder and shot her a sharp look before looking around the busy hallway to make sure there was no fangirl coming to kill me.

Yeah, so I told her about last night's incident and looks like she _did_ freak afterall. Funny how she could be more excited about it than me.

"Ow! I'm just happy for you. Why hit me?" Mai eyed me grumpily, rubbing her shoulder.

Mai was not stupid, in fact, quite smart I must say, but sometimes she can be very oblivious to things. "What if his fangirls hears this?"

She scoffed. "Who cares about them?"

"Me. Asai and her vice-presidents are enough."

Mai sighed. She was then suddenly looking somewhere else. When she turned back, she had a smirk. "I think you'll be spared from a race with Oshitari-kun."

"Huh?"

She merely pointed at the direction she was looking at a minute ago, and so, I glanced over there. Two big fat 'CLUB TRYOUTS' was plastered on the notice board across us, below it stood two students looking like freshmen.

Suddenly at that point of time, I fell in love with those two big fat words. I couldn't be happier. "Oh, wonderful!" I grinned at Mai and gave her a slap on her back. "Great job, Mai!"

She shot me an annoyed look which made my grin grow wider.

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist and turned to the hallway behind me. I watched in anticipation.

Mai gave me a strange look, turning too. "What are you looking at?"

I wore a mysterious smile. "About time he appears..."

"ASAHARAAAAAA!"

And there's that speed-obsessed guy charging towards us, like I expected. Everyone was panicking, trying to get in his way. Even his fangirls were too shock to squeal at the sight of him.

I, however, chuckled at the chaos before me. I was never _this_ excited to hear him mention 'race'.

Mai was staring at me as though I have gone mad.

Oshitari skidded to a stop in front of us with a smirk. "Today if you lose, you'll have to..." He stopped mid-sentence, blinking at the hand I raised up at him. "What?"

My face held a smirk. My lips were trembling, with excitement, to say those words. "Not today." They were out.

"Huh? Why?"

I pointed in the direction that Mai had pointed before he came, and fought to keep the laughter from my voice.

"There are club tryouts for the freshmen today, and the field's one of the venues for tryouts, sooooooo...I'm afraid that we can't race today."

I put on a fake-dejected face while cackling madly inside at the look of utmost horror and disappointment on his face.

"Eh...?"Oshitari turned back to me, sulking. "What the hell..."

I let my smirk show when he wasn't looking. Safe!

"But don't think you can escape..." The smirk on my face fell as I turned to him with a frown. A newly formed smirk was on his face. "Because we'll just have to postpone the race to tomorrow!"

Mai and I exchanged looks, and shook our heads. This guy _never _gives up, does he?

A hand on my wrist had me turning back to Oshitari to see a scary glint in his eyes. "Well then, let's...RUN TO CLASS!"

I gasped in horror, and tried desperately to free my hand before this mad rocket took off.

Then he charged forward.

"NO...NOT AGAIN! NO, STOP!" My leg muscles were screaming, trying to keep up with Oshitari. I threw a pleading look behind my shoulders. "HELP...SAVE ME, MAI!"

With a bored look in return to my pleading one, my last hope shook her head and turned away.

This girl is supposed to be my best friend...?

**...**

* * *

The bell marked the end of Chemistry lesson. All of us were off our seats, ready to greet our teacher.

"Urgh. I don't get it." I said as I plopped back down on my seat after our teacher left.

I stared helplessly at the worksheet before me.

"Walk faster, Shiraishi, I'm starving! You're such a slowpoke!" I heard Oshitari from somewhere behind.

"Coming, coming! And who are you calling a slowpoke!"

Everyone was hurrying to get out of the classroom before the bentos downstairs runs out.

"You of course!"

My head was spinning with questions. Why is Chemistry so hard to understand?

"Aren't you coming to eat? Yuki is waiting for us." I raised my head to see Mai who was holding onto her lunchbox.

"No thanks, I think I'll eat here today instead."

A brow rose at me. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"If you say so..." Mai shrugged. "See ya!" She turned away and walked off.

Watching her, I sighed and turned back to the worksheet to once again let my mind continue its turmoil. My head was spinning with a lot of 'why's.

In the end, I gave in to my growling stomach and stuffed the paper into my bag. But before I start on my food, I needed to get my books for the next lesson. I stared sadly at my packed bento. I'll be back soon, wait for me!

**...**

* * *

I glared absentmindedly at the Biology textbook on the top of the pile in my arms as I made my way down the hallway. It looks like my mind was too stubborn to let me stop thinking about those Chemistry questions.

Why. Why. Why. Why.

I sighed in frustration. My grip on my books tightened simultaneously. I could never get it, couldn't I?

"AHHHHH!" A childish voice screamed.

"Huh?" I looked up, only to slam into a flash of red that left me tumbling backwards. My materials for my Biology lesson later scattered around me as I landed painfully on my butt on the hard floor.

"My butt hurts!"

My eyes popped opened to find a boy with medium length maroon hair. Is he a freshman? I eyed his cheetah-print singlet and forest green shorts. Is that attire even allowed in school?

"Are you okay?" I picked myself up and started gathering my stuff.

"Yeah but my butt isn't! It hurts!" The boy brought himself to his feet and rubbed his butt.

I sweatdropped. When I asked him that question, I meant _generally_. Not his butt, ya' know.

I resisted the urge to comment, and instead chose to stand up. "Well then, hope your butt will recover soon."

He gave me a toothy grin, still rubbing his butt. "Don't worry! It's starting to not hurt anymore!"

I blinked at that grin. My gaze on him slowly softened at his child-like innocence.

I reached out to him and ruffled his hair playfully. "Next time, don't run in the hallways, alright? You're behaving like someone I know." An image of a certain brown-haired male popped up in my mind as I cooed, my motherly instincts taking over. "What if you fell and hurt yourself?"

The boy at first looked surprised by my gesture but soon gave me a shy smile. Awww so cute!

He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'll try to..."

"What's your name?"

The shy look on his face didn't last. A toothy grin came to replace it. "Ahem, I'm...TOYAMA KINTARO!"

My brow rose at his outburst. Where did he get all these energy from?

I glanced down at my watch to realize that there was only three more minutes to the end of break. "Alright Toyama-kun, be careful next time okay? I've gotta go, I hope to see you around school!" I waved as I hurried past him.

Kintaro watched the older girl jogged away. He was about to continue his way down the hallway when he suddenly paused at the sight of a blue notebook on the floor. "Eh? Is that..." He crouched down, eying the book curiously. Blinking a few times at the name on it, he struggled to read. "Sa...Saru?"

He snatched up the book and glanced up to see its owner turning towards a corner. "SARU-SENPAI!"

**...**

* * *

Toyama-kun's voice made me stop and turn around.

I was watching him run towards me with a blue notebook in his hand. Sa...Saru? Did he just call me 'Saru'?

"Saru-senpai!" Yes, I guess he did. "You forgot your notebook!"

"Saru..." I sweatdropped at that name as I took my notebook from him. A smile crept awkwardly across my face. "Why, thank you, Toyama-kun. My name is Kyoru, not Saru."

And...silence.

Well, an awkward one for me especially when he keeps blinking at me like that.

My stomach growled loudly, reminding me of the lovely bento waiting for me in the classroom.

"Ahhh...Anyway, see ya!"

I waved the second time and ran full-speed to my class.

"SEE YA, SARU-SENPAI!"

**...**

* * *

I didn't manage to make it back in time to eat my food in the end. Oshitari kept cracking up during lessons whenever my stomach made a sound that sounded like a dying whale. Even with my deadly glares at him, he never stopped.

The bell that marked the end of school sounded like heaven to me.

"Urgh, I'm so hungry..." I sunk into my chair, resting my chin on my desk the moment we were done greeting our teacher and I was done packing up. I watched Mai wave at me before running off to her club.

Oshitari, who was in the midst of getting ready for club, laughed his head off at my misery. "Pffft...Man, your stomach was LOUD! Thanks to you, lessons weren't so boring!"

"Well, glad to be here to entertain you, Oshitari-san." Sarcarsm in my words couldn't be any heavier.

This only made him crack up even louder.

Stupid Oshitari.

Rolling my eyes at him, they squeezed shut in embarrassment when another dying whale sound came from my stomach.

Was it me or did I just hear another voice join Oshitari in his laugh?

I curiously opened an eye. Who's that?

Opening my other, I straightened up in surprise at what's before me.

Shiraishi was standing by Oshitari...laughing. "Ahhh...Ecstasy! So that was you, Asahara-san? I thought I was hearing things just now!" He said between chuckles.

I could feel myself blushing hard in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah! She was so loud too!" Oshitari snickered.

My face turned redder. "God, stop it you two..."

I think Shiraishi caught my embarrassment because he gave me a grin and said,"No worries, it sounded pretty cute actually!"

"Thanks...?" I sighed, standing up. "I'll go now. See you, guys!" I waved and headed out with my bag, quietly leaving them to their amusement.

"Wait, Asahara-san!" I paused at the door to see Shiraishi running over to me with something in his hand. "Don't go for your club with an empty stomach, it's not healthy. Here, take these sandwiches since you didn't get to eat just now."

He suddenly grabbed up my hand and placed a white plastic bag on it.

I stared at the bag. "But I already have my bento..." How did he know I didn't get to eat during break?

"It's okay, just take them."

Eying it for a moment, I glanced up at him with a smile. "If you say so...Thank you, Shiraishi-kun."

Shiraishi grinned. "Nah, no prob. See ya!" He turned away and walked back to Oshitari.

A grateful look at his retreating back, I walked out into the hallway with a warm feeling. A little bubble of happiness.

**...**

* * *

A tryout shouldn't be called a tryout when freshmen were busy asking for autographs instead of, you know, actually _trying out_. This feels more like an autograph-signing session.

In the midst of the little crowd before me, stood the five Bolts of our team.

Shitenhoji Track and Field team has twenty-five members altogether and one manager. Our team might not be as glorious as the tennis team but we are pretty good too! We're almost at the National level! The pride of our team, the Bolts, were the main reason for our success, though I'm not really sure of the origin of their famous nickname.

Nishihara Shinjirou and Nishihara Kaname, the sophomore twins. From the grins on their identical faces, they were obviously enjoying all the attention.

Okada Mirai, Third year, wore a scowl, looking annoyed at the freshmen but still, gave them her autograph anyway.

Yoshimura Taisuke, Third year. His face held the usual calm expression as he quietly signed and returned the notebook to his adoring fans only to receive another one.

Matsuoka Nanao, Third year. Captain. Oh no, she looks like she's in a bad mood now.

Deciding that it was too boring, I turned away. "Start the stupid tryout already..." I grumbled under my breath, strolling away with one place in mind.

**...**

* * *

Shiraishi was talking to the regulars, looking handsome in his regular jersey and shorts when I reached the courts. The sound of tennis balls hitting the ground alerted me to the fact that their tryouts had already started, unlike my incompetent team.

I thought no one noticed me yet until a very sweaty Zaizen who was running his laps, stopped behind me. "Sup, Asahara-senpai. Looking for Oshitari-senpai? I heard that you two are going to race again."

"Oh hey, Zai-"

"Kyoru-chan~!" Two voices came in unison. Then two people or should I say, Koharu Konjiki and Yuji Hitouji, clung onto my arms. I'm not very close to them but what I know was that they are always together, and they love telling me strange and disgusting stuff.

"We heard that Oshitari-kun can be pretty wild in bed!"

Yep, strange and disgusting stuff.

"Idiots..." Zaizen who was watching them with a raised brow, murmured under his breath with a blush.

My face turned red like his. What the hell did I just hear...?

"Also, we heard that Shiraishi-kun is a gentleman in bed! He will make sure you experience lots of pleasure and-"

"You two! 50 laps around the courts NOW!"

An annoyed voice cut in.

My, thank god, my ears are spared!

We all turned to see a very red Shiraishi with an equally red Oshitari approaching us. They looked very irritated.

"Wha-What disgusting things did you guys say to her this time!" Oshitari spluttered with a glare at the two.

"Not much. Just telling her how you two perform in bed. So wonderfully~" Koharu winked.

Hitouji sighed dreamily. "We know so well..."

He then turned to Koharu. "Let's run away together, Koharu-chan. Run...run towards the sunset fifty times!"

"Oh...Hitouji-chan!"

"...Koharu-chan!"

"Run!"

And so, they took each other's hands and ran off, totally oblivious to our disgusted looks.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. "God, those two..." I shuddered uncontrollably.

Zaizen gave me a look of sympathy.

"He-heh." Shiraishi, who was still red, cleared his throat and turned to me with an awkward smile."Asahara-san, I apologize for those two and for whatever they said to you."

"Uhhh...N-No, It's okay..." I shook my head.

"So what's up? Are you here because..." Oshitari leaned towards me with a smirk. "...you're too eager to race with me?"

Opening to my mouth to say something in return, a whiny voice cut in.

"Shiraishi-sama, Oshitari-sama and Zaizen-sama, we've been telling her to stop bothering you guys but she just doesn't want to listen."

Our heads turned to its direction.

My face fell at the sight of Asai Kaede and her vice-presidents. Don't they have their own clubs to be busy at? Oh wait, right, the Shiraishi-sama fanclub _is_ their club.

Oshitari blinked at them. "Huh?"

Asai came over and did something I didn't expect her to do.

"Now apologize to them, Asahara!" She pushed my head down, bending my body towards the three regulars.

What the...

"Le-Let go of me!" I struggled against her strength to raise my head but to my surprise, I couldn't. This girl was stronger than I expected!

"Hey, stop this at once!"

I heard a voice ordered. It sounded angry.

The weight on my head was lifted as soon as that came, I slowly raised my head to find Shiraishi glaring, glaring at the ones behind me.

"Shiraishi-sama...?" I watched Asai and her vice-presidents shrink under his angry glare.

Shiraishi shook his head at them. "Asahara-san is _always_ welcome onto the courts." My heart skipped a beat."You three, however, are always stepping in uninvited." His voice couldn't be anymore colder. "Get out of here, you three. Don't let me see your faces here again."

I felt a slight pity towards them. I never would want to face Shiraishi's anger or hear him talk to me so coldly.

"Sorry, Shiraishi-sama, we shall leave immediately." They bowed and started to turn away.

My pity for them died like fire the moment they shot me death glares: _Watch out, Asahara._

Oshitari turned to Shiraishi, smacking him in the shoulder. "Control your fangirls, will you?" He had a scowl on his face as he glanced back to watch the three girls walk away.

Shiraishi sighed in return, shaking his head. "They are beyond my control, really."

I never expected him to turn to me. "I'm really sorry about that."

"What?" I glanced up at Shiraishi to see an apologetic smile on his face. It was my turn to smile. "It's not your fault, there's no need to apologize."

"Nah, they are my fanclub so it does kinda make the fault mine." He chuckled.

"You okay, Asahara-senpai?" Zaizen broke in.

The smile didn't leave my face as I turned to him. "Yup. Thanks, Zaizen-kun."

Zaizen nodded and was about to jog away when someone yelled.

"AH! IS THAT YOU SARU-SENPAI?"

Saru-senpai...?

I whipped around to its direction. My eyes bulged slightly in surprise at the maroon-haired boy from earlier. "Toyama-kun?"

Oshitari glanced over at me with raised brows. "You already met the brat?"

"SARU-SENPAIIII!" Toyama-kun's messy fringe flopped in front of his face the moment he stopped in front of me. He had a toothy big grin on his face.

Oshitari tilted his head at me. "Saru-senpai...?"

"Saru...?" Shiraishi's voice came from the right.

"Saru-senpai?"

"Saru-chan~ Why do he call you that?" Koharu and Hitouji asked in unison, poking impatiently at my sides for an answer. Yikes, when did _they_ appear?

"Saru..."

"SARU-SENPAI!"

I didn't know what to say or let alone who to turn to first especially when 'Saru' came from _everywhere_. I could already feel a migraine coming up.

Oshitari laughed so hard that he was shaking uncontrollably.

"AHAHAHAHA! SARU?!"

And that was my last straw. "My name is _KYO_-RU!"

**...**

* * *

**Wow, I didn't expect this chapter to this long! It was an entertaining chapter to write though. I hope you like it!I won't be able to update as fast because I just got my holiday job. Don't worry, this story and my other Kuroshitsuji one are my priorities right now, so they will be updated to the best of my ability. **

**Anyway, please review! Thanks.**

**P.S. ****Let me explain why I made Kintaro read her name as 'Saru'. As you see, the 'ki' and 'sa' in hiragana is pretty alike. Because 'Kyoru is made up(in hiragana) 'ki', 'yo' and 'ru'. I made him read the 'ki' as 'sa'. Those who doesn't understand this, just ignore...It's not very impt.**  


******Saru= Monkey  
**


	4. He Fell in Love

**I was busy, extremely busy to find time to write. Just read this chapter and get to the author's note at the bottom, there are some things you need to know.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not PoT.**

* * *

**…**

**Act Four**

"'_The moment their eyes met, he fell in love."_

**…**

* * *

"God, I hate Chemistry!" I stormed away from the study table and threw myself on the bed in frustration. I glared at the light above as my tired brain racked for a solution.

Kaito had to inconveniently be away at Grandma's store now so even if he was strong in this stupid subject, he was out of question. Mai was not answering her phone, probably because her phone was running flat once again. Honestly, that girl…

My eyes widened at the abrupt image of Shiraishi in my head. What…? Ask him?

I got up and walked over to my window, catching sight of the time before glancing out into the night. Why not? He's good in Chemistry and he's _right _next door!

Taking a deep breath, I spun around and snatched up my pen and the worksheet before making my way out of my room.

Well, it was him or nothing.

**….**

* * *

Hugging my homework to my chest, I glanced down at my shirt and track pants to make sure I looked somewhat decent. Taking a deep breath, my eyes locked onto the gate with a determined gaze.

_Alright, it was him or nothing... _

My heart was picking up its pace as my index finger slowly flew towards the doorbell. The sound that emitted from the tiny device the moment I pushed the button made my racing heart do a somersault.

"Coming!"

Deciding to read the questions while waiting, I gazed down at the paper and sighed again. Urgh! Despite staring at those stupid words for the umpteenth time, they still didn't make sense at all to me.

"Oh, it's you!"

I glanced up only to find myself staring at Shiraishi. It was obvious that he just came out from a bath as seen from his hair that was plastered moist on the sides of his face and the towel around his neck.

"Oh hey, Shiraishi-kun." I brought up the paper in my hands to hide my blushing face. I peeked over the paper at him nervously. "Sorry for disturbing you and your family but I really need to ask you some Chemistry questions and couldn't understand today's lesson so…can you-"

"Help you?" Shiraishi tilted his head at me expectantly and I nodded. "Sure. And no worries, you're not disturbing. Besides, only Yukari and I are at home." He said with a smile as he pulled open the gate. "Come on in." He jutted his chin towards his house, holding the gate open for me.

"Thank you." I did as he said before turning back to watch him close the gate.

"Let's head to my room, Asahara-san." He led me towards his house gently by my elbow.

**….**

* * *

I'd been to his house a few times before when I was younger because my mum and his mum are friends. Only to the first level of it though, never have I ever stepped onto its second floor, so to actually even enter his room was rather new to me.

His room can only be described with one word. Clean.

I was greeted by a clean desk next to a bed the moment I stepped through the door. On it were files and books neatly stacked up at the sides against the wall. The other side of the desk was another door I assumed to be a bathroom.

Kaito had so much to learn from this guy. Shiraishi's room looked like a five-star hotel room compared to my brother's junkyard of a room.

"Want anything to drink?" Shiraishi glanced over his shoulder at me.

"No, it's okay." I smiled, clutching my homework to my chest. A brown short square table I didn't see earlier on came into view as I followed him in.

Shiraishi nodded. "So what do you want to ask?" He said, settling into the cushion seat on the floor by the small table.

I strolled over and sat down too. "Actually, can you go through what Sensei taught us today? I don't get it." I frowned, shaking my head.

"Sure."

Lavender scent hit me when he scooted closer to me. I could feel his heat radiating from him and could also hear his calm breathing so clearly. My heart was beating fast at our close proximity. With only a slight tilt of my head, I swear I could easily rest my head on his shoulder,

I watched Shiraishi clear his throat and turn to me with a serious look. "Alright, today-"

"Ku-chan, who was at the door?" A dark brown-haired girl in pigtails peeked into the room. His younger sister, Shiraishi Yukari. Her eyes flickered over to me and widened in surprise. "Kyoru-chan! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Yukari-chan." I smiled at her. "Just here to ask your brother some questions. So how's your first year in middle school?"

"Fun!" Yukari smiled widely at me. "The people there are pretty nice."

I nodded. "Good to hear."

"Oh by the way, Ku-chan," Shiraishi turned to his sister, "I'm thinking of having a cat as a pet. Can we? Please?" She asked pleadingly.

My eyes widened slightly at her question. A cat?

"Yukari…" Shiraishi frowned."You'll still have to ask Mom and Dad even if I agree, you know?"

"That's why, Ku-chan," Yukari smirked."I need you to help me convince them. They always listen to you anyway."

Shiraishi blinked a few times at his sister and chuckled. "Alright, I'll try. Now, go and do your homework."

"Thanks, Ku-chan!" Yukari turned to the door and paused, glancing over at me with a smile. "Kyoru-chan, can I play with Kyu tomorrow?"

This time, it was my turn to chuckle. "Of course. Come over tomorrow then."

"Yay! Thanks!" Yukari waved and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Silence hung over us the moment it was only the two of us again. I quickly racked my brain for something to say to break it. "So you guys are really going to get a cat if your parents agree?"

"I guess so. " One side of his mouth quirked up at me. "Alright, let's continue. There were four main things sensei told us today…."

**...**

* * *

Shiraishi was a fantastic teacher and that was an indisputable fact. Thanks to him, everything that was alien to me became crystal clear.

I heaved a sigh and gazed down at my almost complete homework.

"Do you understand?" Shiraishi beamed proudly at the progress I was making.

"Yep, clearly."

Shiraishi smiled. "Good, good. Finally, the last aspect Sensei covered today." He suddenly stood up. "But now, take a break while I head to the bathroom."

I returned the smile. "Alright, thanks a lot."

Yawning, I shot Shiraishi a sheepish smile. His mouth quirked up into an amused smile and that was all before he disappeared behind his bathroom door. I stared at the door he closed with envy. How I wish I had my own bathroom!

I yawned the second time.

Staring and listening to these Chemistry things for almost two hours really took a toll on me, my eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. Yawns were coming out uncontrollably and my head was on the verge of falling onto the table below me.

I picked up my pen once again to practice what I was taught, stubbornly fighting sleep.

**….**

* * *

"Alright, Asahara-san, I'm done. Do you want to-" Shiraishi paused when he realized that the said girl was asleep. Pushing the bathroom door close, he quietly stepped towards their study area and kneeled down beside the sleeping girl.

Shiraishi was amused.

The soft snores from her made him smile. The incoherent mumbles and a scratch of her head made him chuckle softly. He bet that she was dreaming about something related to Chemistry, judging from the small frown on her face that he has also witnessed earlier on during their lesson.

He let his gaze sweep across the papers scattered about on the table, interest piqued by the workings scribbled on them. Quietly picking them up, he stacked them up neatly.

Catching sight of the time once he was done packing, Shiraishi pondered. It was getting late, so he should wake her up.

Gently, he shook her shoulders.

"Asahara-san…? It's getting late, you should probably go home now."

I jerked awake at the feeling of someone shaking me gently.

"Ehehe, sorry that I fell asleep…" I quickly apologized. Oh my god I can't believe I fell asleep! I tried to disguise the fact that I was checking for any sign that I was drooling by faking a cough and covering my mouth.

Shiraishi shook his head. I could tell that he felt bad for interrupting my sleep, but it was the only appropriate thing to do."No, it's okay. Come over tomorrow night, we can cover that last aspect. You look really tired, you know."

I blinked at him a few times and laughed. "I know, Kaito told me that before he left Grandma's store. I guess I _am_ tired…" I shrugged nonchalantly.

His eyebrows arched down into a little frown.

"Take care of yourself, Asahara-san. It wouldn't be good if you fall sick." He stood up and reached out a hand towards me. "C'mon, let's get you home."

**….**

* * *

My widened eyes stared at his out-stretched hand.

Suddenly, I didn't know what to do so I just glanced up at Shiraishi. I wasn't sure whether it was because I was too tired to understand anything. However, deciding to glance up was a mistake that had me blushing red- he was giving me his gentle smile again, gah.

A hesitant move towards his waiting hand, I held onto it and stood up with Shiraishi's help. His slightly callused hand was big and comfortably warm around mine. "Thanks." I turned back to the table once he released my hand only to be surprised the second time to see my things already neatly packed.

Shiraishi saw the confused look on my face and chuckled, "Oh, I packed them up for you while you were still asleep."

I grabbed them up and turned to him with a small grin. "Thanks."

**….**

* * *

Thanks to Shiraishi, Chemistry lesson was much easier to follow the next day. I was starting to enjoy the lesson but sadly, Chemistry lesson ended quicker than I thought. However, it was a delight to know that it was time for break.

"Thank god it's over…" My eyes darted to Oshitari to watch him plop down onto his seat the moment our teacher left us with Shiraishi who was the subject representative.

I eyed Oshitari sympathetically.

People like me and Oshitari aren't that strong in Chemistry to understand a new topic in a snap, unlike Shiraishi who could get it in an instant.

Seeing him all listless, I decided to tease him to liven him up.

I planted a playful grin on my face. "Sorry that my stomach wasn't making sounds to entertain you today, O-shi-ta-ri-kun."

Oshitari's eyes flickered over to me and that was all before he sat up with a grin. "Heh, Asahara! Then make sure not to eat so that it can do that for me in the next lesson!" He cracked up.

"Like hell I will." I rolled my eyes to that, glad that I succeeded in livening him up.

He cracked up even louder.

"What are you two laughing about? Aren't you two going for your break?" We both turned to see Mai with her bento.

Oshitari stood up and said between laughter. "Yeah… I'm going now…" He strolled towards the back door.

"Kyoru," My head turned to Mai, "let's go. I'm starving!"

"Alright, where are we-"

"Asahara, remember not to eat~" I snapped my head over to the door to see Oshitari throw a teasing smirk at me.

My face held a dry look. "You wish."

Oshitari burst out into another round of laughter at that and left.

**….**

* * *

Mai's eyes widened at the dark brown object on her desk. She groaned in frustration."Why in the world does this stupid insect just have to land _my_ desk when there are so many other desks here!"

I placed my now-empty bento onto my desk and went over to her. "What insect?" Stopping by her desk, I curiously leaned towards the said insect to identify it.

"Help me get rid of it for me, _please_ Kyoru." Mai begged but I was too engrossed to hear that.

"Oh! It's a Japanese beetle!" I held up the beetle between my fingers, watching it wiggle its six legs in mid-air. Handling insects was something I was used to since Kyu always brings them into the house. The fact that I have read up about beetles before made me less fearful of these kind of insects.

"Eww! Don't you dare come over here with that thing!" Mai scooted away from me with a grimace.

I placed the beetle on my palm and watched it crawl around before settling down to a stop in the center of my palm. "Don't worry, I'll take it somewhere else."

My legs carried me out of the classroom and into the hallway at that, leaving a relief Mai behind.

**….**

* * *

The hallways were crowded and were immediately out of question for this beetle. My eyes were stuck onto the beetle the whole time, only a few glances up to dodge incoming student as I made my way to the school garden.

Strangely, I was beginning to like this beetle. It just sat on my palm and stayed there obediently, never have it ever moved from its spot. This beetle was kind of…cute.

"Asahara-san, is that a beetle you're holding in your hand?"

"Huh?" I glanced up and took a quick step back in surprise to see Shiraishi standing before me. Whoa, when did he appear?

Shiraishi studied the insect curiously. "Hmm…this beetle looks familiar. I've seen this before in Bugs Wonder…" He leaned closer to my hand.

A smile appeared on my face at the thinking male. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration.

"It's a Japanese beetle, isn't it?" Eyes darting up to me, he grinned excitedly at me. "Are you keeping it? Where did you find it?"

His grin was contagious. "I found it on Mai's desk. I'm not keeping it…Do you want to?"

"If you don't mind me having it. We can share this beetle." The grin on his face widened. "C'mon, let's find a container for it." He ushered me to follow him.

Shiraishi fell in step beside me as we made our way down the hallway. "So, Asahara-san how's Chemistry today?"

"So much better, thanks to you."

Shiraishi chuckled. "It's no big deal."

"It is!" I insisted.

He chuckled the second time, shaking his head. He then suddenly made a move that made my face burn. "So what should we name this little guy?" The arm around my shoulders shifted a little when he leaned closer to my hand.

"You decide." I said, trying to ignore the close proximity we had.

"I'm thinking…" He breathed out against my hair, "How about Gabriel?"

I was too busy blushing to say anything and just nodded.

And so, a nod of agreement from me was all which concluded that the beetle will be called 'Gabriel' from today onwards.

Apparent from the endearing looks 'Gabriel' kept receiving from the male; it was no doubt love at first sight for Shiraishi.

**….**

* * *

**I bet you guys didn't expect Gabriel to appear in this chapter. Hahaha XD**

**I don't know when I can update again since my laptop will be send away for repair. School has also started and this year is a critical year for me so there won't be frequent updates. My goddamn schedule is freaking tight so I'm not sure when. I won't blame you if you decide to move on to other stories because updating is almost impossible for me until after I get past my exams. –Sigh-**

**Anyway, please still review. Thank you very much.**

**xoxo,**

**SavageTrickster**


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